Nightmares
by Underwater Polkadots
Summary: Kurogane can't just sit by and listen anymore.    One-shot.


**A/N: Kurogane is so out of character for this, cause o****riginally** **it had been Fai who was doing the comforting. Anyway Enjoy!**

**I recently went through and fixed all my spelling and grammer errors in this. God bless those of you who read it before.**

**I had to re-add this cause a friend of mine reviewed it and put my name in the review. :/**

**Thanks to everyone who pointed out my typo in the last paragraph. :)**

He tried to ignore the sounds. The regular night sounds were easy to ignore; Syaoran's snores, Sakura's rustling and Monoka's muttering. But Kurogane couldn't ignore the soft sounds that started up most nights after midnight.

The first time he had heard it, had been in the Hashin Republic. He had woken during the night to the usual night sounds. At first he wasn't sure what had woken him, but after a while he had heard the unnatural sound. A soft hitching of breath, almost as if someone was crying. Turning over he tried to pinpoint the sound, but at the rustle of his cloak the noises stopped. Settling back down Kurogane waited for the noise, but no different sounds accompanied the night noises.

Sighing Kurogane rolled back fell back into unconsciousness. In the morning he wondered if he had really heard something or it had all just been a dream.

But the sound did continue. It was rare for three nights to pass in a row when the sound didn't make an appearance. During their short stay in Koryo country Kurogane had come to the conclusion that it was Fai who was crying at night time.

Now in the world that only held a large lake, Kurogane was having trouble ignoring it. Lying in his cloak he watched Fai as tremors shook his body. Kurogane had decided when he started this 'adventure' that he would not get attached to his companions. But even he couldn't ignore the mans pain any longer.

Raising himself into a sitting position, Kurogane slowly and silently stood up. Walking slowly over towards Fai, he knelt down behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly as he reached out and placed his hand on Fai's shoulder. Fai's body went ridge and the quiet sobs stopped abruptly. Kurogane frowned slightly before moving around until he was kneeling in front of him. The hood of his coat was pulled forward over his head so only his mouth was visible. The part of his face the Kurogane could see was wearing the trademark smile.

"I was wondering if you heard someone crying just now?" asked Kurogane softly.

"No I didn't hear anything" said Fai stiffly, smile still in place. Kurogane's frown grew slightly at the obvious lie before his reached underneath the hood of Fai's coat. Kurogane gently ran his thumb across his cheek feeling the wetness cover his fingers. He gave a small sigh before pushing the hood back with his free hand. Without the shadow's to cover his face, he could clearly see the tear tracks that ran down the mans cheeks. Kurogane pulled his hand back as Fai let the mask drop. Reaching up he wiped away the tears still on his cheeks before sitting up.

They sat in silence for a few minutes; Kurogane watching Fai closely while Fai stared intently at his hands. Pulling his gaze away from Fai, Kurogane sighed then stood up. Fai glanced up at the Kurogane before shifting his gaze back to his hands.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Kurogane asked the man gently while offering a hand to help him up. Fai looked back up at Kurogane, this time holding his gaze before nodding and taking his hand.

Pulling himself to his feet, Kurogane went to pull his hand away, only to have Fai tighten his grip slightly before relaxing again. Kurogane's gaze snapped to Fai's face in surprise, before he gave a small smile and began walking towards the lake.

They walked in silence, and then stood on the edge of the lake looking up at the moon.

"Would you like to talk about it?" said Kurogane.

Fai hesitated. "Would it help if I did?"

"It may, or it may not" said Kurogane as he sat down, gently tugging on Fai's hand to get him to sit down to.

Fai glanced at Kurogane before sitting down next to him. After a moment he whispered "Some nights they're not so bad. But most nights there horrible."

"Nightmare's?" Kurogane guessed. Fai nodded. Kurogane looked back across the lake to the reflection of the full moon. It seemed to dance on the lakes surface. A slight pressure hit his arm. Looking over he saw that Fai was leaning against him.

Feeling his gaze, Fai's cheeks flushed a light pink. "Can we stay like this for a while?" he said as he tightened his grip on the sleeve of Kurogane's cloak slightly. "When I'm with you they're not so scary anymore."

Kurogane gave a small smile before gently reaching with his free hand and prying Fai's finger's off of his sleeve. Fai looked up at Kurogane with a hurt expression which changed into a surprised expression when Kurogane looped his arm around Fai's waist and pulled him into his lap. Wrapping his arms around Fai, he tucked Fai's head underneath his chin. Now that he sat in his lap, Kurogane could feel the slight tremors that still shook the mans body.

Kurogane ran one of his hands through Fai's hair gently. "Are you ok with me holding you like this?"

Fai fisted his coat lightly "Yes" he whispered as he buried his face into Kurogane's chest. Kurogane smiled as he continued to run his fingers lightly through Fai's hair.

After awhile Kurogane stilled the movement of his hand before gently unwinding his arms from around Fai's form.

Fai tilted his head up to look at Kurogane. "Kurogane….?" He asked. Kurogane gently shook his head before sliding his arms under Fai's knees and back and lifting him up.

"Kuro-chuu put me down, put me down right now." Said Fai as he clung to Kurogane's cloak.

Kurogane chuckled. "I promise not to drop you." Kurogane walked over to Fai's discarded coat and gently placed him down onto the ground. Standing up straight Kurogane went to take a step back only he found that something was clutching onto the bottom of his cloak. Looking back down he saw Fai hand fisting his coat weakly, as he studied the ground.

Crouching back down in front of him Kurogane gently slid a finger underneath Fai's chin and tilted it so he was looking in Kurogane's eyes. "Try and get some sleep" he said before prying Fai's fingers off of his cloak for the second time that night. Standing up he turned to walk away.

"Kuro-chuu?" said Fai in a small voice. "Yes" said Kurogane as he turned back to face Fai.

"…"

"Sorry I didn't hear that" said Kurogane as he crouched down in front of Fai again.

"Would you stay with me, please? I don't want to be alone" whispered Fai, turning his head away as his face flushed red. Kurogane was speechless for a moment before he reached out and turned Fai's head back towards him. He reached out with his other hand and gently ran it through Fai's hair.

"Of course" he said as he pulled back both of his hands and sat down next to Fai. Fai bit his lip, unsure about what he should do now, before he lay down on the ground, facing away from Kurogane. Kurogane shook his head with a smile before laying down behind him. Fai gave a squeak when Kurogane slid his arm around his waist. Glancing over his shoulder, Fai went red again as he realized how close Kurogane's face was to his own. Kurogane nuzzled against Fai's hair before placing his head onto his unoccupied arm.

"Sleep" he said. Fai hesitated before nodding, trusting Kurogane to keep him safe. Slowly his breath evened out until he was in a deep sleep. Propping himself up onto his elbow, Kurogane saw that Fai's face was calm. He wasn't have another nightmare. Lying back down Kurogane pulled Fai closer before burying his head in Fai's hair. Kurogane smirked at the thought of trying to explain this to the children and the pork bun in the morning, before drifting into unconsciousness.

**A/N: So like it? Hate it? Review it either way**


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